Life-saving suit.



T. HATTDRI.

LlFE SAVING SUIT. APPLICATION mm DEC.8. r917.

Patented Dec. 17, 1918.

TAKEJI HATTORI, OF FELLOWS, CALIFORNIA.

LIFE-SAVING SUIT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 1'7, 1918.

Application filed December 8, 1917. Serial No. 206,265.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TAKEJI HATTORI, a subject of the Emperor of Japan, residing at Fellows, in the county of Kern and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Life- Saving Suits, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to suits of that type adapted to be worn by travelers in cases of shipwrecks, and one which will inclose the wearer and may be slipped on over the clothing.

The primary object of the invention resides in the provision of a suit preferably made from one piece of water-proof material constructed to float the wearer, and wherein novel means are employed for rendering a seal tight fastening of the life saving suit on the wearer.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel features, details of construction and combination of parts which will hereinafter be more fully set forth, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and pointed out in the appended claim.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the suit shown applied to the wearer.

Fig. 2 is a detail plan view of the garment fastening means shown in a partially open position; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the fastener in a closed position.

In making a garment embodying the invention here shown, the same is provided with a body portion 5, legs 6 and arms or sleeves 7, all of such parts being constructed from waterproof material, preferably rubber and provided with an open neck portion 8. Secured around the body 5 at a point below the arm pits thereof, is a single sheet of waterproofmaterial 9 fastened only along its edges to the garment, as at 10, to provide between the waterproof sheet and the garment a pouch or chamber which is inflated with air by the wearer, due to the provision of a hand bellows 11 and a tube 12 leading from the bellows into the pouch or chamber. In order to facilitate a fresh supply of air entering the bellows 11, provision is made of an opening. Furthermore. provided on the opposite sides of the hand bellows 11 are pockets 14, while a second pocket 15 is arranged within the life saving suit, whereby the wearer may place therein personal valuables, such as jewelry, knives, medicines or the like. 13 denotes a flexible connector for securing the hand bellows 11 to the suit, in order to prevent any mutilation or breaking of the tube 12. The life saving" suit is provided along the shoulder portions 16 with a placket 17 communicating with the open neck portion 8 thereof, and rendering the garment accessible for application to or removal from the wearer. 5

Arranged along the edges of the placket 17 is a grip 18 comprising a pair of identically constructed members pivotally connected to one another as at 19 for movement in a horizontal plane, and each of the members is thumb nut 22 threadedlv mounted on the 7 fastener or bolt 23. This bolt 23 is carried by one of the mating sections of the grip, while the opposite section is slotted to adapt the clearing of the bolt 23 upon the swinging of the mating sections into a closed position, and furthermore upon the adjustment of the thumb nut 22, will render a seal tight closing of the placket 17. If so desired, a rubber cap 24 may be detachably connected around the open neck portion 8 of the life saving garment through the provision of suitable fasteners 25, whereby the cap may be attached to the suit during extremely cold weather.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the advantages of construction and the method of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, and while I have described the principles of operation of the invention, together with the device which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made when desired as are within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new, is: A life saving suit comprising a body garment constructed of waterproof material provided in the shoulder portions thereof with plackets and pivotally connected at one end to one another for a horizontal swinging movement, the confronting faces of each gripping member being serrated, a strip of waterproof material secured .over the serrated faces of each gripping member, and means for securing the serrated face of one gripping member in interlocking engagementwith the gripping face of the opposite member for establishing a seal tight closing of the plackets, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature.

TAKEJI HATTORI.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

